study found virtually no difference
in the rate of emotional difficulties,
hyperactivity, inattention or general
behavioral problems between children
whose mothers had consumed the most
caffeine and those who had consumed
the least. (Pediatrics, August)

n Morning people are happier,

according to a study conducted by
University of Toronto researchers. More
than 700 people age 17 to 79 completed
a survey about their sleeping routines,
emotional state, health and preferred
time of day. Self-professed early birds
reported feeling happier and healthier
than night owls. One reason for this
finding may be that the biological
clocks of morning people are more in

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line with societal expectations aboutwhen someone should wake up and go

U.S. psychology graduate students perceive more social stigma around seeking
therapy than students in several other countries.

to sleep, leaving night owls to spendthe week unhappy about having to get

n American psychology studentsof Notre Dame. Scientists followed 235up early for work, the authors suggest.(Emotion, June)n Concussions may make the brainage faster, suggests a study by Universityof Michigan researchers. More than

200 college athletes — of whom 62 saidthey had experienced from one to fourconcussions — completed computertasks while brain images were taken.

Even up to six years after the head
injuries occurred, the scientists found
that there were differences in electrical
activity in the brain, as well as in gait
and balance, between college students

report higher levels of perceived social
stigma around seeking therapy than
do British and Argentinian psychology
students, according to a study led by
psychologists at Canterbury Christ
Church University in England. Nearly

500 clinical psychology doctoral
students from the three countries
completed questionnaires about their
attitudes and perceived social stigma
associated with therapy seeking in
general. Students in Argentina reported
the lowest levels of perceived social
stigma for receiving therapy, followed
by students in Britain and America.

middle-class mothers, fathers and their
children over seven years, focusing on
the links between marital conflict when
the children were in kindergarten and
subsequent problems when the children
were teens. The researchers found that
conflict between parents when their
children were young predicted the
children’s emotional insecurity later in
childhood, which, in turn, predicted
adjustment problems in adolescence,
including depression and anxiety. (Child
Development, online June 13)

—AMY NOVOTNEY

who had had a concussion and those
who hadn’t. The differences indicated a
decline in cognitive functions typically
associated with aging. (Exercise and
Sport Sciences Reviews, July)

(Psychotherapy, online Aug. 13)n Marital problems can affectchildren’s development, according toa study by researchers at the University